Employee Highlight: Josh Chamberlain

Position: Equipment Mechanic, Bangor, Maine
Years at Seaboard Drilling: 1

We sat down with Josh to learn about his experience working at Seaboard Drilling and what he enjoys about the job.

Josh is proud of his work refabricating our drill rigs, and he is particularly pleased with the changes he has made to make it easier for the drill crews to operate. He has made custom rod holders, so that the rigs can hold more tooling and the equipment is more accessible. He communicates with the drill crews to find out what they would like to see on the drill rigs and has been able to meet their requests, including installing cupholders on some of the rigs. Josh has refabricated several rigs since joining Seaboard Drilling in December 2022.

A creative person

One of the things Josh enjoys about his job is that he is allowed the freedom to create his own solutions to meet welding and fabrication needs. Eric Baron, Vice President of Exploration Services, will provide Josh with information about what is needed. Then Josh will draw a plan and get Eric’s feedback. Josh appreciates having the opportunity to be creative in coming up with ideas, if they satisfy the specifications needed. He explains, “I am a creative person, that is just how my mind works.”

Overcoming challenges

Josh has been a fabricator for 20 years, but learning the mechanical aspects of the engines is a new challenge for him. He did not have familiarity with test boring explorations before starting this position, and he has been learning on the job about drill rigs and how everything works. He has gone out with the drill crews to gain a better understanding of the process and what to watch for when working on the rigs, developing a better understanding of wear points, where leaks commonly occur, and how equipment needs to be put away when the job is done.

One of the more challenging tasks he has faced in this position was building a frame for a water pump to sit on top of a toolbox. He had to plan carefully to create a precise fit and was able to fabricate a solution that allows the toolbox to fit inside with only 1/8 inch of space around it.

Another difficult task he faces is removing the tracks from the rigs. “There isn’t much clearance, so taking them off is a challenge,” according to Josh. He has been working on making changes to the rigs to make this process easier.

Learning on the job

At the beginning of his career, Josh was a mechanical engineer in the Navy. After that, he got a job at a welding shop cleaning rails, fencing, etc. He worked his way up to more advanced positions, including serving as an iron worker. When working delivering steel, he would practice welding on his lunch breaks. He served as a field welder for multiple companies and then worked as a maintenance technician at a production facility before joining the Seaboard Drilling team.

Josh enjoys the variety of his work here, and he likes that every day is different. We appreciate Josh’s creative problem-solving and willingness to learn. We are glad he is a part of our team!